D
阅读下面短文, 从其后各题所给的 A、B、C、D 四个选项中, 选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。有两项是多余的。
____31____ Early in the Spring and Autumn Period, there were celebrations for the elderly.
____32____ So the Chinese people started to hold the birthday ceremony at the age of 40. Later celebrations would also be held for people’s 50th, 60th and 70th birthdays. The 60th birthday ceremony was the most common. As the length of people’s lives is increasing in modern society, more celebrations have been held in the later decades (十年). In addition, people now have the habit of celebrating the birthday before the end of the decades. ____33____ Why so? As the pronunciation of “nine” in Chinese is the same as the pronunciation of the word “long”. Nine is also the largest single-digit number. ____34____ The highlight of the celebration is birthday feast (宴会), which is different from other feasts. ____35____ Besides being a form of celebrating old age, the birthday ceremony is also a way to wish for the health of the elderly people and hope that they can overcome difficulties they may meet in later life.
A. It stands for best wishes for longevity.
B. Six is another lucky number in people’s eyes.
C. Only a few people could live long in ancient times.
D. At birthday feasts, eating “longevity noodles” is the most important part.
E. There were many activities and customs about the celebration of longevity.
F. In ancient times, people didn’t celebrate birthdays because of poor living conditions.
G. For example, people usually celebrate the 59th birthday rather than the 60th birthday.
参考译文：“长寿”一词源于“长久”，意为着人们延年益寿。因此在春秋时期的传统观念里，人们将长寿视为人生最重要的追求。31 早在春秋时期，就已有为长者贺寿的相关习俗。32 于是，中国人从四十岁起开始举办寿宴，之后每逢五十、六十、七十寿辰也会庆祝，其中六十寿宴最为普遍。在现代社会，随着人均寿命不断延长，人们在晚年的每一个十年也会举办更多寿庆活动。此外，如今人们还形成了“逢九贺寿”的习俗。33 为何会有这样的讲究？因为中文里“九”的读音与“久”（长久）相同，且九也是最大的个位数。34 寿庆活动的核心环节是寿宴，它与其他宴席有着本质区别。35 举办寿宴，既是为老者贺寿，也是为他们祈福安康，祝愿其能顺遂度过晚年可能遇到的难关。A. 它象征着对长寿的美好祝愿。B. 六在人们眼中是另一个吉利数字。C. 古代能长寿的人寥寥无几。D. 寿宴上，吃长寿面是最重要的环节。E. 关于贺寿，有着诸多相关的活动与习俗。F. 古代因生活条件艰苦，人们并不庆祝生日。G. 比如，人们通常会庆祝五十九岁生日，而非六十岁生日。答案解析31. 答案：E解析：前文讲春秋时期人们以长寿为目标，后文衔接古代贺寿习俗与寿宴礼仪，E选项（贺寿有诸多活动习俗）承上启下，衔接自然。32. 答案：C解析：空后“于是”表因果，此空需填四十岁起办寿宴的原因，C选项（古代少有人长寿）符合逻辑，呼应古人对长寿的重视，解释了为何40岁便开始贺寿。33. 答案：G解析：上文提“逢九贺寿”的习俗，G选项（庆59岁而非60岁）是该习俗的具体举例，衔接前文举例说明，贴合语境。34. 答案：A解析：上文讲“九”的吉利寓意（谐音久、最大个位数），A选项（象征长寿祝愿）是对“九”的寓意总结，符合逻辑。35. 答案：D解析：上文核心话题是“寿宴”，D选项（寿宴上吃长寿面是核心）围绕寿宴展开，讲寿宴的关键环节，与上文话题一致。
